How to: Kill a Legacy

[Brom]

Good evening denizens, visitors, and readers. I know it’s been a hot second since I’ve come barging in to bring you news, and I sincerely apologize for my absence. Many things have been happening since the War Games and I’m just a single Crusnik in this big ol’ city doing his best. That being said, tonight I’d like the opportunity to talk to you all about something a bit different.

Instead of a sit down with a single vampire, I went about talking to several members of Ferrymen. As many as I could get a hold of at least. And after some time reviewing their opinions and those that wished not to speak to me, I decided I’d share with you all. A How To, if you will, of what it takes to Kill a Legacy.




There are more than enough people who can tell you about the beginnings of Ferrymen. Their rise to power and the history they built. I myself spent a fair time of my younger days amongst the Ferrymen’s halls and still have a terrible habit of placing two obols over anyone I might stake. The gist of this is that their influence is long and far ranging. It’s been a part of many people’s lives one way or another. And even with its recent closure, its history will play a role in future endeavors for years to come.

So. How did we get here? Why is its closure a thing? Just what was it that shuddered the Corridor and closed the Halls? I think one of my briefer interviews put it best. “Inertia.” For too long, Ferrymen were content in their contentedness. “We do this. This is what we do.” Regardless of how the flows of power fluctuated or their membership rotated through the doors, the spectrum of things I heard were, “We need to change” and quote unquote leadership thinking, “Mmm… Nah.”

In my digging, I’ve come across four names. Liski, Hells, doncey, Vex. I’d give them their proper titles, but those titles don’t exist anymore. And for those not in the Ferrymen know-how the gist of the setup would be Liski at the top, advised by Hells and doncey, while apprenticing Vex. They each had separate amounts of responsibility and accountability within the clan, but worked together to try and make decisions when issues were brought in.

Earlier this year, we saw Annabelle and ladypeacek publicly denounce and attack Liski. Takes a lotta hoo-hah to go after a major power holder in the city, and leader of the last remaining clan to boot. After all, for those of us that remember life before lineages were the power structure, it was always “Clan before Family.” So attacking the “Leader” of Ferrymen should have warranted a Call-to-Arms. A response that would have seen many people from many different walks of life coming together to deal with the situation. And the long awaited response we got? Not nothing. I’d argue, we got worse than nothing. A half-cocked and irresponsible accounting of feelings.

Seen here: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=3416

And so. In quite a lot of confusion to the public. Who was the leader of Ferrymen? Liski painted it as Vex. Vex pointed at Liski. Inside the clan, it seems like doncey, at some point, forced out Hells. And I have no word from Hells’ opinions on any of the matter, so. I’m rolling with the information I have that hasn’t been contested. Despite Liski’s “oppenness” to meet anyone with questions, it seems like silence was the only answer she delivered to anything since the attack. The Ferrymen hadn’t heard from her, and Vex, feeling like his apprenticeship was now moot, decided he would step down from such a roll and resume his regular duties previously assigned within the clan. And here we have The Ferrymen in all of their history and glory now lead by doncey.

In their very last meeting, the biggest concern across everyone’s faces were… “How do we keep it going?” “What changes need to be made to keep Ferrymen alive?” So let me make this clearer. THE FERRYMEN DID NOT WANT TO CLOSE. But wanting something, and needing to do something, are two very different things. The proposals brought by the MEMBERS of Ferrymen? I personally think were bloody brilliant.

A revamp of the Corridor (The Training Hall of Ferrymen) so that established citizens and former members don’t feel like freshlings. Dedicated attention to the people that ARE in the Corridor, to make sure the previous people who felt abandoned, wouldn’t feel that same way again. SUPPORT where support was needed. Voting on leadership. So that in cases of severe stagnation such as what they were in now, could be avoided. Leadership could be put to a vote of confidence, and rotated around as the members saw necessary.

The proposals by the leader of the Ferrymen? Fresh meat. Recruiting through the Shadowlights to find “prime” candidates to join the Ferrymen crew. In doncey’s own words, “I won’t rebuild something completely new unless it involves my family. Full Stop.” “If I take part in something new I’ll do with it as I wish.” Personally, this feels a bit Capadocian. My clan. My rules. My way. Respect it or get out.

From here, things obviously devolved. The actual members of the Ferrymen weren’t onboard with the idea of members having to go through doncey’s family to go through the corridor, to get membership. And doncey, can’t handle an ounce of constructive criticism. In case I wasn’t clear a bit ago, let me do so again. THE MEMBERS OF FERRYMEN WANTED TO REMAIN FERRYMEN. They did not want, however, to be considered a husk of PoE (Path of Enlightenment, doncey’s former claim to fame before being absorbed into the Ferrymen.) or possibly even worse, a reimagined sex-trafficking ring. Gross.

And like all whirlpools spiraling in the drain, someone obviously has to pull the plug. This happened when doncey took it on himself, AS THE LEADER OF FERRYMEN, to leave Ferrymen and attack Vex. Which, is weird? And, again. I’m going to quote the man himself here.

“Vex is no longer your leader. I am.”

“”I will not be part of a clan to be turned into nothing more than shop and guild hunters. Or a library of history books, stripped of its warriors and financial institutions. I won’t stand by as the clan is shelved as the NightWatch has been.”

“Of course you want to dismantle Ferry and build something new, that seems to have been the goal all along, hasn’t it? You want me out? Force me out.”

Personally, I see the NightWatch as a staple that’s been steady in all of it’s work, but that’s a story for a completely different article. The gist of this is, The Leader “Full Stop,” didn’t want to hear the message of those he was leading. That they wanted to change. They wanted to grow. They wanted to be a part of the city and be a part of the change. Not remain as they were.

Once doncey left the Halls and began attacking Vex, the call to vote was placed by limelight. “To Close the Halls of Ferrymen permanently, or Continue trying to revive it” with the option to close having the Ayes.

The final tally was 7 Ayes, 2 Abstain and 6 non-votes by absences.




So the culmination of all this. What’s the point of the article and what do we do moving forward?
How to kill any legacy is quite simple. First and foremost, ignore the people you’re leading. Don’t hear the words, don’t address their concerns, make sure they feel small and ignored, and if they dare question your leadership, make sure you tell them exactly who’s in charge as a reminder for confidence. And when that doesn't work? Try bitch-slapping one of them to get them in line.

Thank you for your time, and to those of you looking to BUILD a legacy, try maybe… doing the exact opposite of everything I just said. If you need an idea of how that works, I assure you, there’s no small pool of ACTUAL leaders that can help guide and build you up. I wish nothing but the best for all of you in your future endeavors. May tomorrow’s trees bear the fruit you’ve planted.



This is an opinion piece made and edited by yours truly.

[Yawa]

Amen.

[Oberon]

I love that he thought that Ferrymen being "nothing more than shop and guild hunters" was an insulting concept, as if that has not always been the very backbone of the Clan that got twisted into something irrecognizable over the years. Especially the last decade or so.

Nepotism is a disease.

I for one am glad the Clan saw its end in the hands of people who genuinely cared about it.

[Everly]

Despite my personal feelings on one individual, it is a pity to see a clan fall to ruin. I hope he takes this opportunity to reflect and turn inwards. Too often we are quick to point to the perceived failures of others without reconciling our own faults. This is a lesson I learned the hard way and I am grateful to my lineage for allowing me the opportunity to do so.

I wish for you, doncey Shadowlight, that your family provides you the same opportunity.

To those former Ferrymen, I wish for you to find the change you desired. We still need institutions to grow and challenge the city. The failures of a few do not have to determine your personal ends. Stagnation is death and sometimes, all it takes to light a wildfire is a single spark. Go Ferrymen, but do not go quietly. I wish for you to find your sparks reignited.

[Coldy]

The last couple of weeks have brought about sudden and needed changes to our City. Leadership has shifted, communities have come together and have fallen apart.

To quote Oberon, “People want to lead until they know what it actually means.”

I echo his statement. I will not pretend to know the inner workings of how people lead their legacies or their people; but I will comment on how not to do so. Asking people for blind loyalty to your cause without taking their input or desires into consideration is not how you get loyalty. You sow a seed of resentment, which will eventually grow and consume you. We’ve watched this happen over and over. Yet, the patterns still repeat.

There are pockets in our City where people are working together. Hearing one another. And holding people accountable. This is how we grow. You can support and recognize other people’s successes without diminishing your own. Or you can choose a wildly different path.

To those putting in the work, I see you and I support you. I’m proud of the work you’re doing.

[Annabelle]

Annabelle and Pea denounced and attacked Liski.

That is all, and Happy Ferry.

[Brom]

Annabelle and Pea denounced and attacked Liski.

That is all, and Happy Ferry.

Edited, thank you for the clarification.

[GrimreaperMoon]

To those former Ferrymen, I wish for you to find the change you desired. We still need institutions to grow and challenge the city. The failures of a few do not have to determine your personal ends. Stagnation is death and sometimes, all it takes to light a wildfire is a single spark. Go Ferrymen, but do not go quietly. I wish for you to find your sparks reignited.

As former Ferry, thank you for saying this. This was sweet and I wish the same for my former Ferry brothers and sisters.

[doncey]

Yes, I have my own feelings about Vex, what he was doing, what he intended to do, and ultimately what he accomplished, regardless of anyone else’s perceptions. I never asked for a leadership position in Ferry and didn’t want it. I also didn’t force Hells out of the clan. While it’s true I didn’t fight to keep him, claiming I ran him out is a lie. In fact, I even fought for Vex to get a leadership position, and he can confirm that.

After Hells left and Liski seemingly stepped down, I was actually excited to work with Vex. We had great plans, and he helped me immensely with backend tasks I didn’t fully understand. For context: I was retired. I never intended to lead Ferry in any capacity, ever. Still, I gave it my all. I reached out to every member of the clan, except for ophelia, whom I rarely saw and never felt any fondness from.

However, things changed. Vex became increasingly frustrated over not receiving the proper keys or the information he expected from Liski. When he eventually stepped down, I found myself alone in an empty council, without any support. I felt abandoned by Vex, especially after doing everything I could to secure him a leadership role. He had often reminded me that if he wasn’t in a leadership position, his family would have no reason to hesitate attacking Ferry, he would need to be there to negotiate with them because he was the only one that could. I had no reason not to believe that. So, when he stepped down, I believed that attack was imminent.

Vex had been discussing closing Ferry and building something new for a while. I made it clear to him on multiple occasions that if we weren’t focusing on Ferry, I was not interested in building something from scratch my family were not welcomed in. Some of my family were already not welcome in Ferry, and most of them wanted nothing to do with it anyway. So to allude I wanted my family involved in rebuilding Ferry is out of context.

As for opening a new gateway, those discussions began long before Vex’s involvement, over a year earlier, in fact. Regardless of mistakes made in the University by someone I entrusted our legacy to, and my own "Wendy-sized error" (which I’ve admitted to and corrected by revising guidelines to forbid instructors from dating students), one thing my family has always excelled at is welcoming new arrivals to the city and helping the homeless. That’s what PoE did for years, and we were good at it. Ask Thing 1—maybe she’ll put her hatred of myself aside for a moment and confirm that fact.

Admittedly, I dropped the ball on the castle schools and the University in recent years. I didn’t keep a closer eye on things, and that’s on me. When we first started discussing a new gateway in Ferry, the clan was largely inactive. I couldn’t run a gateway alone and didn’t have the support I needed within the clan. I needed to lean on my family for this to succeed. My intention was to address these issues and prove to the city that we were capable of this task. I even spoke to Anders about using the Angelarium for classes, as I admired what they were doing there.

This was never about building my family. I didn’t sire any recent graduates from the schools fresh out of graduation like some others, and I wasn’t trying to use the gateway as a recruitment tool for my family or for Ferry. It was meant to be an entry point to the city, introducing newcomers to Ferry, the Nightwatch, the Angelarium, and everything else the city offers, so they could choose their own paths.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to build relationships and communicate openly, I kept hearing about comments made behind my back calling me a terrible sire, questioning why I helped those close to me, and casting doubt on my intentions. Every time I tried to open doors, they were slammed shut.

So yes, I ultimately decided to rebuild a gateway with my family. It wasn’t about exclusivity, it was about creating something that worked. But when my words were twisted and taken out of context within Ferry, I snapped, and things snowballed from there.

Let me be clear: I never wanted to lead Ferry alone. That role was thrust upon me, and all I wanted was for people to listen and stop being assholes.

You accuse me of choosing a destructive path, but I didn’t. Every time I tried to do the right thing, I was pushed back toward this division. Half the city has its opinions about me, my work, and how Ferry ended. I’m tired of being trashed daily. I’m tired of the division in the city and people refusing to look at their own role in it.

All I’ve ever wanted was to help. But clearly, that’s not enough. So, keep doing what you do best: tear people down until the bitterness is so ingrained it takes another decade to heal. That’s what this city does best, isn’t it?

[Brom]

“Hells wanted to run the gateway completely under the guidance of the clan. I refused.”

“Hells was chased from the clan by myself, due to the things he planted and the weaknesses he highlighted. ”

Call me a fucking liar again you piece of shit.